Rolls-Royce Signs $75 Million Azerbaijan Energy Deal

Rolls-Royce has won a third contract to supply RB211 gas turbines for the Azeri oil project being developed in the Caspian Sea. Valued at over $75 million the new contract brings the total value of Rolls-Royce energy equipment ordered for this project to more than $230 million.

It also brings to 27 the number of Rolls-Royce RB211 sets ordered over the past three years by BP for installation in the Caspian Sea oil fields - one of the largest concentrations of industrial RB211s in the world.

Eight industrial RB211 gas turbines are required for the newly-launched Phase III Deep Water Gunashli phase of the development, in which the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) is investing some $4.7 billion.

Four sets will generate electrical power and three sets provide Water Injection pump drive on the Process, Compression, Water Injection and Utilities (PCWU) platform of the development.

The eighth RB211 set, a main power generation unit, will be located on the adjacent Drilling, Utilities and Quarters (DUQ) platform.

Tom Curley, President of the Rolls-Royce energy business, said: "The latest contract from Azerbaijan is a significant accomplishment and reflects the confidence and satisfaction that BP has in Rolls-Royce products for these critical applications.

"All the gas turbine orders in our size range for Phase I, Phase II and now Phase III of this important development have been won by Rolls-Royce."

Success for Rolls-Royce in all three phases of this development is a direct result of the Rotating Equipment Initiative signed with BP in 2000. This ensures maximum equipment availability and highly competitive life-cycle costs for BP, the operator of the Azerbaijan project. The initiative also provides new product and aftermarket opportunities for Rolls-Royce.

Equipment will be delivered to a schedule that will enable Phase III of the project, which focuses on development of the Deep-Water Gunashli oil field, to begin oil production in mid-2008.

The Rolls-Royce gas turbines sets for this phase of the Azeri project will be engineered, packaged and tested at the company's Liverpool, UK, facilities. Nineteen Liverpool produced packages have already been delivered to Azerbaijan for Phases I and II.

Total industrial RB211 sales worldwide have surpassed 400, of which some 170 are providing power generation and mechanical drive services for offshore oil and gas installations.